England, Wales, Ireland and France to share Rugby League World Cup 2013

The 2013 Rugby League World Cup will be staged in four nations, with England, Wales, Ireland and France all hosting matches.

In total 18 venues will be involved in the tournament, including Avignon and Perpignan in France and Limerick’s Thomond Park.

England will play some of the World Cup 2013 matches on home soil (Getty)

In England, matches will be played in the new grounds at St Helens and Salford as well as Pow Beck Stadium.

Headingley in Leeds, Wrexham, Warrington and Wigan will be used for the quarter-finals.

Overall, 34 stadiums submitted bids to host matches.

It was also announced that Bolton, Bradford, Manchester, Preston, Widnes and Workington will act as hosts for teams’ base camps.

Commenting on the decision to host the event across a number of nations, tournament director Nigel Wood said: ‘We experienced massive interest in hosting matches from all across Europe and we have had to make some tough decisions.

‘We are excited that the tournament will visit established world-class rugby league venues but will also visit some new locations, including Bristol and Whitehaven, where we see unique opportunities to grow the game and to deliver a lasting legacy for our sport.’

England will play in group A of the tournament alongside Australia, Fiji and Ireland, while other host nation Wales is in group D alongside the Cook Islands and the US.

Current champions New Zealand will face Papua New Guinea, Samoa and France in Group B and Scotland will take on Tonga and Italy in Group C.